Pool had a pretty interesting year last month.

2024 is shaping up to be the most lucrative, action-packed and congested year in, well, probably forever.

And if you’re wondering just how crazy the year figures to be, you can just use February as a microcosm of the year ahead. All of the powers that be in pool — Matchroom, Predator and the World Pool Association (WPA) — were in the thick of a frenetic 29 days of action, much of it off the table.

In truth, February figured to be a lively month all along. Matchroom’s World Nineball Tour (WNT) was racking up attention with its commitment from 127 of the world’s top players, while the WPA was still threatening to start banning WNT players from WPA-sanctioned events after March 1. Stuck in the middle was manufacturer/promoter Predator, which just wanted to run its tournaments, offer free match streaming worldwide and, like the others, “grow the sport.”

Predator, though, was in a different situation. It was, to a certain extent, at the mercy of the rift between the WPA and Matchroom. With significant money invested in WPA-sanctioned events like the World 10-Ball Championships, World 8-Ball Championships and the World Teams Championship, the cuemaking giant had to figure out its course of action should the ban go through on March 1. It’s not unreasonable to assume that Predator, as a major contributor to the WPA’s coffers and credibility, exercised a little leverage in urging the WPA to work harder (and more expeditiously) on a solution to the ban threat.

In the meantime, more than 200 players were crisscrossing tables during Predator’s five-tournament pro pool extravaganza at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas (all WPA sanctioned, by the way). A pair of men’s events (the Las Vegas Open and World 10-Ball Championship), a pair of women’s events (the Las Vegas Women’s Open and the Women’s Showdown) and an eight-team Mixed Doubles competition kept players and fans more than occupied, while the WPA and Matchroom were reportedly “discussing” détente.

Word had found its way through the pool world in mid-February that the WPA had reached out to Matchroom founder Barry Hearn in an attempt to mend fences and work together. Apparently, the conversations gave the WPA hope, and the governing body started prepping for a pre-March 1 lifting of the ban. When it became obvious that Matchroom was not going to rush into a formal deal, joint press release and rousing rendition of Kumbaya, the WPA was left with no choice but to release its own statement putting any reprisals against players on hold.

As reported in “Wing Shots” (pg. 12), the WPA released a cryptic statement that, in essence, said the ban was lifted and players could play in any events they choose. Oh, and they were “treating” all WNT events as sanctioned. The WPA was careful not to put words in Matchroom’s mouth, since the promoter had technically not agreed to anything other than continuing to run its own events as originally planned.

And just to make sure there was no confusion over who was, shall we say, capitulating, Matchroom followed with its own release reminding everyone that its events are sanctioned by its own World Professional Nineball Pool Corporation, but adding that it looks forward to someday having the events “co-sanctioned by the WPNPC and WPA.”

Was anything really resolved? No, but the players, bless their patient hearts, could now chart and plan for any tournament that was to their liking — WNT, WPA, Predator, etc.

And that is a good thing because opportunities available in Las Vegas during the bevy of Pro Billiard Series tournaments showed that more tournaments, more money and more exposure was good for the players and good for the game.

A little off topic, perhaps, but while we’re on the subject of PBS events, I do believe the promoters have found a format that suits Predator’s model for growing the sport, the players’ desire for a true test and the fans’ yearning for excitement.

While it can lead to long matches, the best-of-five set races to four used in the later stages of the World 10-Ball Championship made for some truly compelling and exciting matches in Las Vegas. With the potential for more than 30 games over the five sets, players can’t argue about the matches being “crap shoots.” And fans can remain engaged throughout because a player is never out of the match. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz trailed Pin Yi Ko 2-0 in sets, but the match still held fans’ interest because each set is a new beginning. Sure enough, FSR battled back to win the next two sets and then completed his comeback by winning the decisive set. The match lasted more than four hours, but the intensity of the format held pool fans captive.

That said, I agree with the prevailing sentiment among players that no match should be decided by a spot shot shootout. A little more tinkering and this format could become both fair and entertaining.

And so, pool is off and running in 2024 and there appear to be no barriers preventing it from being a monster year for the players, both men and women.

Unless, of course, event scheduling becomes an issue.

Nah. That won’t happen, right?